Dana White Thinks There’s Still Room For Fedor in the UFC

There’s no way to sugarcoat it. Fedor Emelianenko, the Russian heavyweight legend whose career accomplishments paint a portrait of greatness, got his ass kicked this past weekend.

We all saw it. Thanks to the magic of Fight Pass, Fedor’s bout against UFC vet Fabio Maldonado at EFN 50 was all about the Russian getting knocked out, woken up, beaten on, and then winning an extremely home-cooked decision. But Dana White appeared on Matt Serra’s new podcast, and he thinks Fedor could still have a home in the UFC. (H/t to MMAJunkie for this one.)

“They were going to let him die before they stopped that fight, you know that?” White said. “But a testament to how tough and durable and mentally strong Fedor is, man. He was out. He was out. Literally, when he got back up … when a guy is on crazy legs the way that he was on crazy legs, and it’s not like he was on crazy legs and able to avoid punches after that. He continued to get hit with bombs by Maldonado and he made it through it.

“But I’ll tell you this: Those refs were willing to let him die before they stopped that fight, No. 1. And No. 2, Fedor’s got a chin and he’s a tough guy.”

White said the possibility of Emelianenko eventually getting a fight in the UFC still remains. At the very least, he knows there’s still an audience for the 37-year-old heavyweight.

“We’ve been negotiating for many, many, many years,” White said. “I’ll tell you this: Fight Pass did very well with that fight, so people do still want to watch Fedor.”